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Lower Merion Conservancy wants to preserve open space

Mon Nov 16, 2009 / Watershed Land Collaborative

Nov. 16, 2009

http://www.philly.com/community/archives/features/70219277.html

The Lower Merion Conservancy is headquartered in a cottage house, tucked and secluded in Rolling Hill Park down a shady path, past the ruins of a mansion that burnt down in the 1950s. The dilapidated cottage, which dates back to 1895, was spared the wrecking ball and accurately restored about 10 years ago; the funds the township had slated for demolition were given to the conservancy for renovations. And after 30 years of a nomadic existence, which included setting up shop in several churches and community centers, the conservancy has a home, fittingly in a building it saved. 

Lower Merion Conservancy Executive Director Mike Weilbacher said the organization practices what it preaches. The conservancy’s circular gravel driveway even houses fuel-efficient cars. 

Approaching its 15th anniversary in 2010, the conservancy was born from a merger between the Lower Merion-Narberth Watershed Association, which dates back to the 70s, and the Lower Merion Preservation Trust, which dates back to 1991. Weilbacher, who has his roots in environmental education, and even hosted an environmental news show on WHYY called “Earth Talk,” has been at the helm during the entire 15-year run, and said the issues are the same as they’ve always been: open space preservation, historic building preservation, and improvement of the environment. 

Open space preservation isn’t what it used to be, Weilbacher, of Merion Station, said. The township isn’t dealing with what he calls a “shockwave of suburban sprawl,” like it did in the 1920s, but rather infill development by landowners subdividing their properties, which are sometimes as large as 10 acres. As a result, Weilbacher said there is a 10-to-20 year window of opportunity to lock up as much land as possible. If not, he said there is a possibility of every possible building lot being a building lot — removing all rural land from the township. Through the conservancy’s efforts, the township has an extra 200 acres of open space, made possible by about 20 voluntary land easements between landowners and the conservancy, which prevent subdivision. 

The township picks up some extra land … and the landowner gets a tax benefit, according to Weilbacher. 

“We can do things that the local government can’t do,” Weilbacher said. “The government can only protect open space by buying it, which is expensive. For a while it was upwards of $1 million for an acre. The county has a strong open space program, but our allotment of it wasn’t enough to do anything meaningful, so we’ve always had to be creative,” he said, referring to the easements. 

Landowners looking for an easement sometimes hear about the conservancy through the grapevine; and on parcels where a subdivision is possible, the conservancy sends direct-mailers. 

The township has several proposed developments, according to Weilbacher. There’s a proposed apartment complex on Righters Ferry Road on the river, there are a lot of opportunities for multi-family dwellings on Rockhill Road, and there’s the possibility of a large hotel complex in the center of Bryn Mawr, which is the result of a specially zoned district in Ardmore and Bryn Mawr that allows for denser development. The latter proposal isn’t so bad, he said. 

“Some planners are trying to get residents into the center of town to support the merchants and also to provide walkable communities near the train stations,” Weilbacher said. “Residents [could] take the train back and forth to work, walk home, buy a loaf of bread some fresh fish and a bottle of wine — that’s the impetus, to bring people into the center of our towns, and we’re supportive of that, as long as it dovetails with historic preservation.” 

And the conservancy supports preservation of historic buildings by providing an annual watch list of buildings that are at-risk to be razed. A committee of about a dozen volunteers scours the township and ranks the buildings in order of priority to protect them. Though “Number One” for 2009 — La Ronda — is now at the bottom of a quarry, Weilbacher said there is some good that came out of the October demolition of the Bryn Mawr mansion. 

“It was surreal, watching the building come down, because I wasn’t sure it would ever happen,” Weilbacher said. “But never has one building occupied the time of so many people for so long to save it. It’s given the community more impetus to preserve other important buildings. I think it’s given historical preservation that much more visibility, and I think there are lots of people now, both inside and outside township government, who are hoping to take significant steps forward [to preserve historic buildings.]” 

The Lower Merion Conservancy is located at 1301 Rose Glen Road, Gladwyne, and may be reached at 610-645-9030 or online at www.lmconservancy.org.

http://www.philly.com/community/archives/features/70219277.html